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Breaking The Silence Against Molestation !

From few days I was observing that, my best friend seemed to be distressed and disturbed. The girl who was so lively and chirpy, now had a gloomy face. I asked her several times to share her problem but she was reluctant. But finally one day, she broke out in front of me and sobbingly narrated her story.

Since many days, one of our college lecturer was molesting her by passing unsavoury and innuendos remarks. Firstly she tried to ignore him, but he showed no signs of giving up, instead he deliberately tried to physically touch her private parts. He even threatened her that if she would not satisfy his sexual hunger then he would fail her in the annual examination. On hearing this, she was very frightened and tense. She knew that if she would share this incident with anyone then nobody would believe as he had a dignified image in front of the students and staff.

Saying this, suddenly she hugged me tightly and said that “Himadri..I trust you..as you are my best friend, I know..you would only believe me and bring me out of this gruesome situation..!”

For few minutes even I was speechless but then I consoled her. I motivated her not be a silent victim and advised her to take vocal stand against him as these harassers do not stop of their own accord, ignoring such conduct may be perceived as complicity, condoning and encouragement of the act. I held her hand and assured that I would always be there for her and encouraged her to raise voice against the harasser. After listening to my advice, she thanked me and promised that she would surely handle this situation courageously and tactfully.

The very next day my friend approached our lecturer. She daringly threatened him to stop his sexist remarks towards her, otherwise she would complain to the Faculty Coordinator about his delinquency and disrespect against females. If he still disagreed then she would file a criminal complaint of sexual harassment against him and would also report it to the local non-government organization working for Women Rights. Hearing this outrageous warning, that lecturer shivered in fright, he immediately apologized and promised my friend that he would never commit this mistake again and would always respect women.

Remember, whoever you are and whatever you do, you can definitely help to eradicate female molestation.

Comments

Himadri,
How fortunate your friend was able to draw courage and support from your friendship. In taking a stand, not only did she prevent her own molestation but perhaps the abuse of another student. This is definitely a situation when you said the right thing at the right time, in spite of what your profile says ;-). Am so happy you found PulseWire and look forward to reading more from you.
Janice

Hi Janice,
First of all thanks very much for praising my efforts but I consider it was my duty to show the right path to my best friend. Secondly, where the cases of female injustice are concerned, I always do the right thing at the right time, which I will continue forever. Genuinely, I am very glad to join World Pulse site, which gives women a platform to share their opinions, experiences and problems. Kudos to the owners of this site, they are really doing a very noble job. I would surely participate again and I am also looking forward to read your valuable comments for my future posts.
Regards,
Himadri

When responding to a comment, it is best to hit the word "reply" at the bottom of their comment box as that way, they are notified by email when you post a reply. I would not want anyone to miss out on your responses. Best wishes,
Janice

You were able to empower your friend and let her know it was okay - and necessary - to speak up. So many times, women in these situations are defeated by their own shame, even though they haven't any reason to be ashamed. What's happening is not their fault. I'm glad you were able to support her and let her know that she did not have to tolerate being mistreated.

Hi Brianna,
Yup..you are absolutely correct,there is nothing shameful in raising voice against molestation. I am sure if every single women on this earth, retaliates against this gruesome act, then definetly world would become a secured & peacefull place to live in,specially for women.Looking forward to hear more from you.
Regards,
Himadri Chauhan

You are an amazing friend, and a strong spirit for standing up to this obscene injustice. The world would be better off with more people like you. And, more people like your friend who are willing to speak out for their rights, and confront men who are abusive and worse. These acts of violence can no longer be tolerated. I hope that this teacher really did see the error of his ways, and may even speak out against gender-violence himself.

Hi Beck,
I am really feeling pleased to read your comment, if all men in this world have the same opinion as yours, then women on this earth would never face such gruesome situations in their life.Ya, after that strict warning from my friend, I could see that our professor really felt shamefull about his misdeed and saw a completely transformed humanbeing, who continues to respect women till date.Looking forward to hear more from you.
Regards,
Himadri Chauhan

As an Indian woman -- who has lived both in India and the U.S. -- I know exactly how different the two worlds are in context of women being able to speak up. The difference often is that when a woman is abused and or molested in the U.S. and she speaks out -- there is social agitation against the one committing the offense. In India it is the opposite. It is the woman who is socially ostracized by people in general. So it takes double guts for a woman in India to speak out. And just as much guts for her friends to stand by her. So I admire both of you in the stand you took. We need women like you to change India.

This is a common issue. Time and again, it becomes the headline of the newspaper in Nepal that a young girl is raped by her teacher. I hate this when it is a teacher or a lecturer who molest or rape because their job is to lighten the world with education. When people from such educated and respectful group do such unforgivable activity, from whom can we expect development and goodness?

Your friend proved that silence is not always the best way to solve problems. Women have the right to speak, so we should speak up against any type of violence. We have the right to "keep our heads up" as my teacher says.